5.  The applicant was born in 1970 and lives in the town of Kansk, Krasnoyarsk Region.
6.  On 19 March 2001 the applicant resisted a lawful arrest during a robbery and allegedly caused bodily harm to Mr F., officer of the Achinsk Department of the Interior, who was passing by with his wife. By a decision of 19 May 2001 an investigator of the Investigations Unit of the Achinsk Department of the Interior ordered the applicant's arrest.
7.  The applicant was arrested on 10 July 2002 and brought to the Achinsk police station (see also paragraph 13 below). It is unclear whether any investigative measures were taken during the initial period of his detention. On 24 July 2002 the applicant was charged with robbery.
8.  On 26 July 2002 the Achinsk Town Court considered that the applicant's arrest and detention had been unlawful because there had been deficiencies in the arrest record, in particular because he had not been informed of the above decision dated 19 May 2001; the applicant had not been brought before a court within the statutory time-limits. The applicant was released and ordered not to leave his place of residence. On 22 August 2002 the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court quashed the Town Court's order and ordered a re-examination of the matter. On the same date, the applicant was charged with the assault of officer F.
9.  On 3 September 2002 the applicant was served with a copy of the indictment. On 4 September 2002 he was arrested. On 5 September 2002 the judge extended the applicant's detention and listed the case for trial on 26 September 2002. On 28 February 2003 the trial judge extended the applicant's detention until 4 June 2003. On 3 June 2003 the judge extended the applicant's detention until 4 September 2003 with reference to the gravity of the charges against him, his previous criminal record and attempts to flee justice. On 15 July 2003 the Regional Court upheld that order.
10.  The applicant pleaded not guilty. At a court hearing on 19 August 2003 the prosecutor dropped the charges of assault because the case had been investigated, in breach of the Code of Criminal Procedure, by the Department of the Interior where the victim, officer F., was employed. By a decision issued on the same day, the Town Court terminated the proceedings concerning the charge of assaulting F. By a judgment of 20 August 2003, the Town Court convicted the applicant of robbery and sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment. On 2 December 2003 the Regional Court upheld the aforementioned judgments.
11.  In separate proceedings, by a judgment of 28 October 2005 the Town Court recognised the applicant's right to compensation on account of the dropped charges. However, the court refused to award compensation, given the factual basis of the dropped and pursued charges.
12.  The applicant was released in 2006.
13.  On 10 July 2002 several police officers arrived at the applicant's flat. In the presence of his wife and child, officer B. struck him several times on the back and insulted him and his wife.
14.  The applicant was then taken to the Achinsk police station, where he was beaten up by officer F. for nearly one hour. The officer inflicted blows to the applicant's chest, abdomen, legs and head. Such actions were due to the animosity of the officer toward the applicant after the events in 2001 and in order to extract a confession for the robbery. The applicant was forced to sign unspecified documents.
15.  Instead of being placed in a standard cell, the applicant was kept alone for ten minutes in a tiny cell. While he was examined by medical assistant M., his former neighbour, M. refused to record any of the injuries to his body. On the same day, he was transferred to the remand centre. According to the applicant, the transfer did not exceed ten minutes and was supervised by at least five convoy officers.
16.  The applicant was not brought before a court after his arrest (see paragraph 8 above). He alleges that by failing to draw a record of arrest and by failing to bring him before a court within the statutory time-limits the authorities attempted to cover up the alleged ill-treatment.
17.  After his arrest on 10 July 2002, the applicant had been placed in the temporary detention centre (of the Achinsk police station). The bruises on his chest had been self-inflicted during his transfer from the temporary detention centre to the remand centre.
18.  According to a note by the temporary detention centre, the applicant had been brought to the centre on 10 July 2002 at 5.30 pm and had had no injuries.
19.  On the same day, he was transferred to the remand centre in Achinsk. As follows from the written report (акт медицинского освидетельствования) issued by the remand centre on the same day, the applicant was examined by a medical assistant of the remand centre, in the presence of the on-duty senior officer and the senior convoy officer. According to the report, the applicant displayed numerous bruises on his chest and explained that the injuries had been sustained during his arrest.
20.  On 24 July 2002 the applicant was interviewed by investigator A. in relation to the criminal charges against him. A lawyer was present at the interview. The applicant made the following statement:
“I was beaten up by police officers during my arrest on 10 July 2002. I cannot name them because they did not introduce themselves. They hit me on the chest, abdomen and back. The injuries were recorded in the remand centre. When brought to the police station, I was refused access to a lawyer and was not given any notice about my rights and the accusation against me. I had no interview with an investigator and consider that my detention for fourteen days was unlawful...”
21.  Between 26 July and 4 September 2002 the applicant was at liberty. According to the applicant, he raised a complaint of ill-treatment at trial hearings held on 26 and 27 September 2002. However, the trial court refused to examine the complaint because no medical evidence had been adduced by him.
22.  In reply to the applicant's request, by letter dated 1 April 2003, the Achinsk prosecutor's office informed him that the report of the remand centre dated 10 July 2002 had been kept in another file concerning the applicant. In September 2003 the applicant complained to the Achinsk prosecutor's office that he had been beaten up by officer F. and his colleagues.
23.  According to the Government, the applicant's complaint of ill-treatment at the hands of police officers was first raised by him at the national level on 9 March 2003. They subsequently submitted that it had first been raised on 22 September 2003.
(b)  Investigative measures and judicial review
24.  The applicant complaint was dealt with by investigator P. of the Achinsk prosecutor's office. The investigator interviewed officer F., who stated that he had seen the applicant for a moment in the lobby of the police station on 10 July 2002 but had not had any encounter with him.
25.  Officers B. and L. stated that there had not been any ill-treatment or use of force during the applicant's arrest in his flat on that date.
26.  Medical assistant M. stated that she did not remember the events, as they dated back to 2002. Referring to the record, she affirmed, however, that she should have examined the upper part of the applicant's body and, as followed from the record, had detected no injuries. Nor had the applicant aired any complaint to her.
27.  The investigator also interviewed F.'s wife, who recounted the circumstances relating to the applicant's arrest after the robbery in March 2001.
28.  Later on, the applicant was also interviewed and stated that during his arrest in the flat officer B. had inflicted several blows to his back. In the police station, officer F. had kicked the applicant's chest, abdomen and legs; F. had also struck several blows to the applicant's head with his hand.
29.  By a decision of 2 October 2003, the investigator refused to initiate criminal proceedings. He stated in a summary manner that the applicant's allegations were refuted by the above statements made by B., F., his wife and M.
30.  On 24 February 2004 the prosecutor annulled the decision of 2 October 2003 and ordered further enquiries. The investigator in charge of the complaint interviewed investigator A., who stated that she had indeed interviewed the applicant in the presence of his lawyer and that soon thereafter she had gone on sick leave and had transferred the case to another official. In reply to the investigator's request, the applicant's wife had refused to make a statement about the circumstances of the applicant's arrest.
31.  By a decision of 3 March 2004, the investigator refused to initiate criminal proceedings for the following reasons:
“According to the medical report of 10 July 2002 issued by the temporary detention centre, the applicant had been in good health. However, according to the medical report issued after his transfer to the remand centre on the same date, he had displayed bruises on his chest. There is no evidence that the applicant sustained those injuries during his arrest.”
32.  On 29 March 2004 the applicant was served with a copy of the decision of 3 March 2004.
33.  On 23 April 2004 the prosecutor annulled the decision of 3 March 2004 and ordered an additional inquiry. The investigator then took a statement from a Mr Sh., who had been detained with the applicant on 10 July 2002 in the temporary detention centre. Sh. stated that the applicant had told him that he had been beaten up during the arrest.
34.  It appears that the investigator asked a medical expert Z. to examine the available documents concerning the alleged ill-treatment. In reply to a question from the investigator, Z. made “written explanations” (объяснение) that when physical force was applied close to bone tissue, bruises could either become visible immediately or within several hours. She also replied that it was not practicable to determine the timing of the injuries caused to the applicant because the medical report of 10 July 2002 did not contain a morphological description of the bruises, such as details of their colour or a description of any oedema.
35.  By a decision of 5 May 2004, the investigator refused to initiate criminal proceedings because no evidence could be adduced that the applicant had sustained injuries during the arrest. In particular, the investigator established that the information contained in the medical reports and the arrest record had been insufficient to determine when the arrest had taken place and when the relevant injuries had been sustained.
36.  By judgment of 4 June 2004, the Town Court annulled the decision of 5 May 2004. The court held as follows:
“After his arrest, the applicant remained under the control of the police or convoy officers...
Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides that no one shall be subjected to torture...
In the Ribitsch v. Austria judgment of 4 December 1995, the European Court held that the Government should give a plausible explanation of how the detainee's injuries have been caused.
The case file contains no evidence rebutting the applicant's allegations and the medical evidence or supplying any such plausible explanation....
The European Court pointed out in the Ribitsch judgment that any recourse to violence in respect of a person deprived of his liberty not made strictly necessary by the conduct of the detainees, is in principle an infringement of Article 3.
In view of the above, the decision of 5 May 2004 is unlawful and lacks reasons explaining how the applicant's injuries had been caused.”
37.  In June 2004 the administration of the remand centre decided to transfer the applicant to a prison, where he would serve his prison sentence. The applicant brought proceedings claiming that his transfer would impede the inquiry in respect of his complaint of ill-treatment. By letter of 1 July 2004, the Town Court informed the applicant that the above decision was not amenable to judicial review.
38.  The investigator questioned a medical expert, Ms Kr., who interpreted in her “written explanations” the location of the injuries mentioned in the report of 10 July 2002 as meaning that the area had been accessible to the applicant's hands and thus could have been self-inflicted. Mr K., chief of the convoy section, stated that the applicant had been transported to the remand centre in a convoy van, in which detainees were not restrained and could thus inflict injuries upon themselves. It does not appear that K. participated in the applicant's transfer on 10 July 2002.
39.  By a decision of 25 June 2004, the investigator concluded that the applicant had inflicted the injuries on himself “with the intention of avoiding prosecution for the criminal offence” during his transfer from the temporary detention centre to the remand centre.
40.  By letters of 5 and 8 July 2004, the prosecutor informed the applicant that, due to his transfer to the prison, he would not have access to the inquiry reports and that he had already been provided with a copy of “the decision”.
41.  By a judgment of 10 September 2004, the Town Court upheld the investigator's decision of 25 June 2004. Having heard the parties, the court considered that the investigating authority had carried out all practicable measures during the inquiries; all relevant testimonies and documentary evidence had been collected and assessed. On 19 October 2004 the Regional Court upheld the Town Court's judgment, endorsing its reasoning.